SCARY SITES BEST VIEWED AFTER DARK.(Living)(Site-seeing)

Byline: Jan Perry

Bats, black cats, spooks, kooks, gore and more - today's column takes Halloween to its scariest best. My advice is to wait until dark, turn out all the lights and then begin your adventure to these sites. Not all of these are good choices for the very young, but hey, who says fun on the Internet is only for kids?

* www.bonegarden.com. I mention it every year, but it deserves it. A wonderful virtual haunted house with moody music and eerie sound effects. To follow the tragic story of Victor and Victoria Bonegarden click on any books you see as you go along. There are five floors and a cemetery to explore - if you dare.

* http://rats2u.com/halloween/

halloween_houses.htm. Take a tour of some real cemeteries from around the world including perhaps some of the most famous found in New Orleans, Travel to graveyards around the globe using the links listed here then visit Morticia's Morgue, where you'll discover still more of the silent (or maybe not so silent) resting spots of the dead (or maybe not so dead). Anyone truly interested will take time to read "Tomb with a View."

* http://macinsearch.com/infomac/game/haunted-mansion-hc.html. Here's one for all the Macintosh folks. You can download the Shareware for Haunted Mansion. Here's the description: "This game is packed with frightening graphics, stunning animation, and blood-curdling sounds. Getting into the old house is easy, getting out is not!" I don't have a Mac, but I've read the reviews that say his is a seriously scary good time. (Note: Make sure you have virus safeguards in place before downloading anything off the Net.)

* www.allaboutghosts.com/

index1.html. Why play games with imaginary ghosts? Read about real ones and the people who pursue them. All About Ghosts is a nicely designed and well-maintained site with an interesting combination of all things paranormal. Lots to explore and links to take you even farther into the realm of the unknown.

* http://www.scary.com/

index2.html. One of my favorites with something to please all ages. Stroll the street at this far from sleepy village and you'll meet up with all sorts of scary folks. It's loaded with great graphics and laced with spooky sound effects. Between the witches' hut, the scary cemetery, the gory laboratory and Mansion Magi-Goria - it's clearly a Halloween BOOnanza.

* www.halloweenmansion.com. This is a new one to me and it has one of the best opening sequences of any I've found. (Slower computers may take a minute or two to load it.) After the great intro, my expectations were high. I was disappointed at first; it seemed like there wasn't much to it. But the more I explored the better it got. Not only are the various rooms fun to see, almost every part of Halloween is covered, from the history and mystery of the day to games, links and recipes. I just wish more of the rooms had "hidden" effects like the clock in the foyer.

* http://cagle.slate.msn.com/sack/HAUNTED1.asp. Ok, just to be fair, here's one just for kids. Join in a search through the haunted house for all the family pets. But watch out, there's more hidden here than Buster and Bunky. Ghosts, goblins and even Frankie Stein are just waiting to gobble you up for supper.

* www.geocities.com/Enchanted

Forest/6491/ville.html. And if you're still looking for some spooky spots for happier hauntings, Lil Star's Halloween Village is a clever page of links to some other kid-friendly pages.

Jan Perry is a Kentucky-based freelance writer for The Post. She welcomes your suggestions, questions and comments at SiteSeer2K(AT_SIGN)aol.com.